Research review
Does apple cider vinegar help with muscle cramps?
The one controlled trial linking a vinegar-containing drink to a shorter muscle cramp used pickle juice, not apple cider vinegar. No trial has tested apple cider vinegar itself for muscle cramps.
The evidence doesn't support apple cider vinegar as a treatment for muscle cramps. The one human trial that found a vinegar-containing drink shortened a cramp used pickle juice, not apple cider vinegar, and no study has tested apple cider vinegar itself against a cramp.
What the evidence doesn't support
No trial has given people apple cider vinegar, as a drink, shot or capsule, and measured whether it prevented or shortened a muscle cramp. The research below either tested a different vinegar-containing product (pickle juice) or analyzed apple cider vinegar's chemistry in a lab, without testing it on a cramp in a person.
What the trials found
A 2010 crossover trial in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise electrically induced cramps in a foot muscle of 10 mildly dehydrated men. Drinking about 74 mL of pickle juice shortened the cramp by roughly 49 seconds compared with drinking the same amount of water (84.6 vs. 133.7 seconds), even though blood tests showed almost no change in fluid or electrolyte levels within that short window. The researchers concluded the effect wasn't from rehydration or replacing electrolytes, but likely a nerve reflex starting in the mouth and throat that quiets the nerve signal driving the cramp. Pickle juice contains vinegar, along with salt, water and spices, at a different concentration than apple cider vinegar — the trial did not test apple cider vinegar on its own.
A 2020 lab analysis in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research measured the acetic acid content of foods and products athletes commonly use around cramps, including dill and sweet pickle juice, mustard, sweet relish, apple cider vinegar, and several commercial "shot" products and sports drinks. This was a chemistry measurement, not a cramp trial: it found pickle juices and yellow mustard had acetic acid levels the authors judged most practical for the reflex described above, based on the earlier pickle juice research — apple cider vinegar was one of the substances measured, not one that was tested for cramp relief itself.
Separately, a published case report described a patient who developed low blood potassium after years of drinking large amounts of cider vinegar. Because low potassium is one recognized cause of muscle cramping, heavy long-term vinegar intake working against electrolyte balance is the opposite of what a cramp remedy would need to do — a caution, not a benefit.
Questions people ask
Does apple cider vinegar help with leg cramps?
No trial has tested apple cider vinegar itself for leg cramps. The nearest research tested pickle juice, a different product, for exercise-induced cramps.
Does apple cider vinegar help with cramps generally?
No study has tested it for cramps of any kind, including menstrual cramps, which is a separate topic from the exercise-induced cramps discussed in the research above.
Apple cider vinegar or pickle juice for cramps?
The controlled trial used pickle juice, not apple cider vinegar, and pickle juice's brine, salt content and acetic acid concentration differ from a straight vinegar product. Reaching for apple cider vinegar based on that trial is extrapolating past what it tested.
How much apple cider vinegar should I take for a cramp?
There's no established dose, because no trial has tested apple cider vinegar for cramp relief at any amount.
Why do people think vinegar helps with cramps?
The theory comes from the pickle juice trial above: acetic acid in the mouth and throat may trigger a rapid nerve reflex that inhibits the motor neuron driving a cramp, independent of hydration. That mechanism hasn't been confirmed for apple cider vinegar specifically.
When to talk to a doctor
Cramps that are frequent, severe, involve muscle weakness, or interfere with daily activity are worth discussing with a doctor, who can check for medication side effects, electrolyte imbalances or circulation issues. Apple cider vinegar is not a treatment for muscle cramps.
Related reading: apple cider vinegar side effects, how much apple cider vinegar should you take a day, and apple cider vinegar: what the research does and doesn't show.
Sources
- Reflex inhibition of electrically induced muscle cramps in hypohydrated humans A controlled trial found pickle juice, not apple cider vinegar, shortened an electrically induced muscle cramp by about 49 seconds compared with water, through what researchers believe is a nerve reflex rather than rehydration.
- Quantitative Analysis of the Acetic Acid Content in Substances Used by Athletes for the Possible Prevention and Alleviation of Exercise-Associated Muscle Cramps A lab chemistry study measured the acetic acid content of foods athletes use around cramps, including apple cider vinegar, but did not test any of them — apple cider vinegar included — for actual cramp relief.
- Hypokalemia, hyperreninemia and osteoporosis in a patient ingesting large amounts of cider vinegar A published case report described a patient who developed low blood potassium, elevated renin and osteoporosis after drinking large amounts of cider vinegar.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.